Digital Transformation in Manufacturing- Keys to Ace the New Normal

You must surely have heard the notion that states how constant change and innovation are at the heart of everything. Well, the year 2020 brought in changes that the entire world was not prepared for in the slightest.

A major part of these changes was forced on us, after all, we had a global pandemic to combat. While the challenges were way too many, it also opened up a lot of new opportunities that didn’t exist before. Yes, the losses are far too heavy, but this real-time situation was perhaps the most defining simulation anyone could have ever imagined.

Digital transformation in manufacturing is a little rare, but it’s not something unheard of. The COVID-19 pandemic forced manufacturers to ask in their hearts- are the supply chains and infrastructure vigilant enough?

The response would not be overly negative, but it tilts towards that direction. While there is no denying that no manufacturing unit will ever go back to its pre-pandemic boisterous profile, hopes will surely run high on the supply chains that are quicker, cost-efficient, and minimize emissions.

Digital Transformation in Manufacturing Industry

The digital world has been on a constant path to innovation all this time, changing dramatically for the manufacturers. Dynamic market trends, enhanced connectivity, and better technology have led to immense improvements in the supply chain. There have been numerous digital transformation examples in manufacturing that have had amazing results on the suppliers, customers, and even other third parties.

In the present scenario, the manufacturing industry is in a constantly dynamic state, which is because of different economic, global, as well as political decisions. While 2019 saw the advent of IoT and AI into the industry, the coming years are going to be similar, with technologies like 5G, Machine Learning, and Predictive Analytics among others.

Digital transformation in Dreamforce is a persistent subject, where the Salesforce conference brings eminent thinkers together to make a collective mark in manufacturing. There must be path-breaking potential in digital transformation, otherwise, the hype would not have been there.

How Manufacturers can Nail Digital Transformation

Digital transformation allows the manufacturers to collect important data from the company, not just from the factory floor. With abundant data, it becomes easy to create a streamlined data flow that can be analyzed properly to derive insights on how the organization could be run better.

With benefits of digital transformation in manufacturing aplenty, here are some ways on how manufacturers can truly nail their digital transformation-

1- Managing the Pain Points is Important- it’s Crucial!

As we mentioned above, the benefits of digital transformation in manufacturing are a lot, but implementing it into the organization is not exactly what you call easy. The best instance is when companies struggle to incorporate new technologies into their legacy systems, the pain of which can be described only by the team there.

This is exactly the reason why it’s important to bring a system integrator in place so that the associated risks in the manufacturing transformation can be systematically reduced and managed.

It’s all not exactly easy, but not doing this can hamper the scalability potential in the time to come.

2- Solving Gaps in Skills

Talent management is a crucial aspect of any manufacturing enterprise. As technology continues evolving, the right talent to match that technology is also to be needed to manage the newer systems and procedures. However, the talent pool for profiles like Data Scientists is in short supply.

As a result, the existing employees face increased pressure to become trained, leading to high investments in the training workshops.

Whatever the reasons may be, manufacturers need to be able to make considerable investments to either hire new staff or train the existing ones to ensure that the workforce is comfortable in using those new processes that are in store with digital transformation.

3- Accept the Transformation Journey

For any manufacturing enterprise looking to make a global mark, looking out for ways to increase productivity is very important. This productivity should not be limited to just the shop floor, but the complete supply chain.

Digital transformation in manufacturing will affect every aspect of the designing and development process, from the customer as well as the automation perspective. In fact, for the manufacturing industry as a whole, every enterprise, irrespective of the scale, should not take anything lightly when it comes to digital transformation. Accepting it for what is, is crucial.

In the end…

Digital transformation in manufacturing is filled with both, challenges as well as opportunities. As a manufacturer, it depends on you about how you wish to adopt this into the existing system processes.

A solution like KBMax can be of help if our opinion is deemed important by you!